Management Tip of the Day: 3 ways to manage clashing leadership

BOSTON (Reuters) - The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

"If everyone had the same management style as you, life at work would be easier, wouldn't it? Not necessarily. While managing the tension can be challenging, working with someone who has a different approach than you can often yield innovation and creativity. Here are three ways to make the most of differing styles:

1. Unpeel the onion. On the surface, you may seem to have little in common with your coworker. But if you look deeper, you are likely to see shared values or a mutual goal. Focus on what you have in common, not on what you don't.

2. Manage your expectations. Recognize that you and your coworker are going to have different expectations about how things should be done. Communicate about these disparities and be open to doing something another way.

3. Push for innovation. The true value of diversity is a richer end product. Use your relationship to find innovation and benefit in the work you do together. "